The Minister for Small Business backs FUEL Roadshow to tackle the UKs access to finance challenge

The UK Government’s Minister for Small Business has pledged his support to a national business roadshow coming to Edinburgh that will help thousands of SMEs find the right advice and become ‘investor and funding ready’.

Blair McDougall MP and the Department for Business and Trade are backing FUEL, a series of dedicated business-focused events being delivered by funding solutions specialists, UMi, to help overcome the challenges faced by UK SMEs when trying to access finance to launch or grow.

FUEL will arrive in Edinburgh on Thursday 24 September ahead of five other regionally focused events taking place during 2026. From Scotland to the South East of England, each remaining location is expected to attract more than 250 local business owners, bringing visitors face to face with national funders, investors and advisers.

The Edinburgh event, to be held at Murrayfield Stadium, will help Scottish companies identify what type of funding is right for them (and when), how they can reach funding and investor-ready status, and discover who is actively looking to back businesses similar to their own. Over 250 appointments are also scheduled for attendees and pre-matched funders to directly discuss support for individual commercial requirements. 

Blair McDougall MP, Minister for Small Business, commented: “Small businesses are the backbone of the economy in Scotland with over 360,000 of them employing more than one million workers . However, too many still lack the finance to unlock their full potential to create jobs, opportunities, and growth.

“This is why we are increasing access to finance across the UK through the British Business Bank, and why roadshows like these are so important, providing businesses with the right knowledge, guidance, and expertise they need to grow.” 

Since 2027, UMi has supported ambitious UK businesses including start-ups, scale-ups and larger, established companies, and has unlocked £1bn of investment from grants and loans to private sector investment. The FUEL roadshow underpins the organisation’s continuous commitment to helping the nation’s businesses do more and go further, and is being backed by major partners including NatWest, Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance, CO4CH, Scottish Enterprise, CBI and British Business Bank.

Nicki Clark OBE, CEO of UMi, said: “FUEL has been designed so business owners up and down the country can have access to everything they need in one place over the space of a few hours – by enabling visitors to have direct, tailored, one to one conversations with investors, advisors and industry figures, they can go away confident in the knowledge that they are on the right path and take the next steps to successfully access finance for their business.

“Too many brilliant businesses are held back by complexity, jargon and missed opportunities, and despite the UK having a world-class financial services sector, many SMEs face persistent and quantifiable barriers to securing finance to survive and thrive. FUEL isn’t a typical ‘trade expo’ but more so ‘get it done’ workshops and meetings where those delivering ambitious growth plans, overcoming cash flow challenges, or diversifying, can get the support they need.” 
 
FUEL roadshows will be taking place throughout the UK at the following locations:

•    Edinburgh – Thursday 24 September – Murrayfield Stadium
•    London – Thursday 03 December – Excel London
•    Wales - TBC
•    Manchester - TBC
•    Midlands - November

Business owners interested in attending any of the events above can book tickets (or register interest in future events) via the website: www.fuelroadshow.co.uk.